In Summary, our Midwest Mini-Tour
So we're about to get in the van for the 15-hour drive that will complete our whirlwind midwest jaunt, and we thought that before we did, between urgent sips of coffee, we should pick out a few tour highlights.
*Ann Arbor:
We were thrilled to get to stay with various members of the extended Shonde mishpocha - Claire, Adam, Eva, Santiago - who taught us the valuable skill of creating Dungeons and Dragons characters, among other things. (For those who remotely care, The Shondes are comprised of a Gnome Bard, a Half Orc Rogue, a Palladin Were-bear and a Dwarf Fighter. New levels of nerddom were embraced! Stay tuned for details.) We also spent a lot of time with a fake severed arm. I can't account for it, but it was pretty amusing.
We got to play the illustrious Blind Pig, where fabulous Ann Arborites came out to see us and dance the night away. A good number of people from She-bang, the fabulous queer night we played the last time we passed through, were there in full effect, which we very much appreciated. And of course, post-show, we feasted at the adorable Fleetwood diner. Thank you, Ann Arborites, for excellent hospitality and for dancing the eve away our show!
*Minneapolis:
Besides singing Minneapolis-themed songs in Zayde voices (Lucinda Williams' "Minneapolis" was disgraced multiple times, and Mary Tyler Moore was repeatedly evoked), we had a rousing good time in Minneapolis. We hung out in front of the First Avenue, which is decorated by painted stars featuring the famous people who have graced its stage (mostly, we drooled over the Rod Stewart star, of course. And Blind Melon.) and then got to play a show at its neighbor, the 7th Street Entry. Minneapolis queers came out in droves, thanks so much to Lisa, Radford, MK, JFAETTO (Minn. Jewish anti-occupation crew), Homocore Minneapolis, and the ever-queer and fabulous Tough Tough Skin. It was exciting to come back and see so many of the people we met over the summer, and to play for such a huge and energy-packed crowd.
After the show, we stumbled to the Hard Times Cafe with Steve where we inhaled delicious food and resisted falling slowly into our plates of chips. It was v nice to see Steve - more Shondes mishpoche! We crashed and in the morning, Ian and Steve had been up since circa 6am grocery shopping and concocting the most elaborate tour breakfast we've maybe ever had - eggs, toast, finely chopped hash browns, kale with vegan 'cheesy sauce,'. All was accompanied by a lovely BBQ sauce, which Ian kvelled for, and which further inspired all of us to believe that Ian should start a BBQ sauce blog! Others?? Send your support and thoughts on the matter and perhaps something will happen! In conclusion, many many thanks to the awesome community in Minneapolis who got a Shondes-buzz going in town before we came.
* St Louis:
Baruch Hashem!! We got to go back to the Way Out Club in Saint Louis! We were lucky enough to play with the same two bands we played with last time we were in Saint Louis - Rats and People and That's My Daughter - excellent rockin' music and stomping good times. It was a lovefest reunion, for real. The Way Out Club is like an eccentric haven of homey green giant sculptures, with incredibly nice owners and clientele, candy on the bar, and green birthday drinks. We got to reunite with some of our favorite Saint Louis characters, and need to fall over ourselves (willingly, willingly) to say thanksthanksthanks to That's My Daughter for putting the show together! And despite challenges like midwest-allergies-lead-to-voice-loss and breaking-violin-strings (Eli rocked particularly hard in St Louis, what can we say), we had a great time playing and listening to the other bands. We very much appreciated the sweet comment from the St Louis Burlesque representative at our show who said being at a Shondes show felt like being at a rousing, heartbreaking musical. This is the stuff we live for. Look for "SHONDE!: The Musical!" Coming soon to a theater near you.
*Chicago:
Chicago was a city we were clearly excited to come back to - to stay with Ian's family, see Ian's local friends, and continue our delicious schooling in Chicago Pizza - but last minute, our show fell through. What to do? We got on (or Inside, as I low-tech-ily say) the Myspace and The Email and got in touch with some Chicago friends and friends of friends and People Who Friends Put Us in Touch With and we got connected to a benefit for Ladyfest Chicago. It was a fabulous display of generosity and creativity and we want to say a million thanks to everyone who helped make our Chicago show happen - we would have been so sad to skip over ONE of our favorite cities. We got to play on a bill with 8 other bands at South Union Arts, where the crafty and activist communities came out to support and to eat vegan baked goods galore and to meet some very devoted Chicago activists and artists. We want to give special thanks to Beth from Ladyfest who figured out how to fit us in on such a packed night, and to all the MPShows and Ladyfest-ers who were excited to include us.
There is, as always, far more to say, but there was something pretty effing GREAT about taking such a short, packed trip - we felt SO much Shonde-love and support, and in conclusion: THANK you all for hosting us, hanging out with us, eating with us, dancing to our music, and making our midwest tour the stellar makings of "SHONDE!: The Musical!" Note our photo montage for previews of dramatic Musical scenes - we hope to ask Joss to direct. Free BBQ sauce for the first 72 audience members. xoxo
*Ann Arbor:
We were thrilled to get to stay with various members of the extended Shonde mishpocha - Claire, Adam, Eva, Santiago - who taught us the valuable skill of creating Dungeons and Dragons characters, among other things. (For those who remotely care, The Shondes are comprised of a Gnome Bard, a Half Orc Rogue, a Palladin Were-bear and a Dwarf Fighter. New levels of nerddom were embraced! Stay tuned for details.) We also spent a lot of time with a fake severed arm. I can't account for it, but it was pretty amusing.
We got to play the illustrious Blind Pig, where fabulous Ann Arborites came out to see us and dance the night away. A good number of people from She-bang, the fabulous queer night we played the last time we passed through, were there in full effect, which we very much appreciated. And of course, post-show, we feasted at the adorable Fleetwood diner. Thank you, Ann Arborites, for excellent hospitality and for dancing the eve away our show!
*Minneapolis:
Besides singing Minneapolis-themed songs in Zayde voices (Lucinda Williams' "Minneapolis" was disgraced multiple times, and Mary Tyler Moore was repeatedly evoked), we had a rousing good time in Minneapolis. We hung out in front of the First Avenue, which is decorated by painted stars featuring the famous people who have graced its stage (mostly, we drooled over the Rod Stewart star, of course. And Blind Melon.) and then got to play a show at its neighbor, the 7th Street Entry. Minneapolis queers came out in droves, thanks so much to Lisa, Radford, MK, JFAETTO (Minn. Jewish anti-occupation crew), Homocore Minneapolis, and the ever-queer and fabulous Tough Tough Skin. It was exciting to come back and see so many of the people we met over the summer, and to play for such a huge and energy-packed crowd.
After the show, we stumbled to the Hard Times Cafe with Steve where we inhaled delicious food and resisted falling slowly into our plates of chips. It was v nice to see Steve - more Shondes mishpoche! We crashed and in the morning, Ian and Steve had been up since circa 6am grocery shopping and concocting the most elaborate tour breakfast we've maybe ever had - eggs, toast, finely chopped hash browns, kale with vegan 'cheesy sauce,'. All was accompanied by a lovely BBQ sauce, which Ian kvelled for, and which further inspired all of us to believe that Ian should start a BBQ sauce blog! Others?? Send your support and thoughts on the matter and perhaps something will happen! In conclusion, many many thanks to the awesome community in Minneapolis who got a Shondes-buzz going in town before we came.
* St Louis:
Baruch Hashem!! We got to go back to the Way Out Club in Saint Louis! We were lucky enough to play with the same two bands we played with last time we were in Saint Louis - Rats and People and That's My Daughter - excellent rockin' music and stomping good times. It was a lovefest reunion, for real. The Way Out Club is like an eccentric haven of homey green giant sculptures, with incredibly nice owners and clientele, candy on the bar, and green birthday drinks. We got to reunite with some of our favorite Saint Louis characters, and need to fall over ourselves (willingly, willingly) to say thanksthanksthanks to That's My Daughter for putting the show together! And despite challenges like midwest-allergies-lead-to-voice-loss and breaking-violin-strings (Eli rocked particularly hard in St Louis, what can we say), we had a great time playing and listening to the other bands. We very much appreciated the sweet comment from the St Louis Burlesque representative at our show who said being at a Shondes show felt like being at a rousing, heartbreaking musical. This is the stuff we live for. Look for "SHONDE!: The Musical!" Coming soon to a theater near you.
*Chicago:
Chicago was a city we were clearly excited to come back to - to stay with Ian's family, see Ian's local friends, and continue our delicious schooling in Chicago Pizza - but last minute, our show fell through. What to do? We got on (or Inside, as I low-tech-ily say) the Myspace and The Email and got in touch with some Chicago friends and friends of friends and People Who Friends Put Us in Touch With and we got connected to a benefit for Ladyfest Chicago. It was a fabulous display of generosity and creativity and we want to say a million thanks to everyone who helped make our Chicago show happen - we would have been so sad to skip over ONE of our favorite cities. We got to play on a bill with 8 other bands at South Union Arts, where the crafty and activist communities came out to support and to eat vegan baked goods galore and to meet some very devoted Chicago activists and artists. We want to give special thanks to Beth from Ladyfest who figured out how to fit us in on such a packed night, and to all the MPShows and Ladyfest-ers who were excited to include us.
There is, as always, far more to say, but there was something pretty effing GREAT about taking such a short, packed trip - we felt SO much Shonde-love and support, and in conclusion: THANK you all for hosting us, hanging out with us, eating with us, dancing to our music, and making our midwest tour the stellar makings of "SHONDE!: The Musical!" Note our photo montage for previews of dramatic Musical scenes - we hope to ask Joss to direct. Free BBQ sauce for the first 72 audience members. xoxo
posted by The Shondes at 11:33 AM
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